Clean Eating for Busy Families: My New Favorite Cookbook (Giveaway!)

A few days ago several readers and I had a great discussion on Facebook about make-ahead breakfast ideas. As I was mulling over all the great options you suggested (and thank you for those!) I remembered that there was a gem of a recipe (details later in the post!) in my new favorite cookbook: Clean Eating for Busy Families, by Michelle Dudash, R.D.

You have likely heard of “clean eating” or the “clean food” movement, but if not, the basic idea is that you attempt to eat food as close to its original source as possible, avoiding GMOs, artificial ingredients, preservatives, and high-fructose corn srup. I’ve been intrigued by the idea for a long while, but honestly, the thought of switching my entire approach to eating (and letting go of many convenience food options that are loaded with all that bad stuff) was pretty overwhelming.

My family actually was on the Paleo diet for about a month, and that was a great way to force a restart in our systems and get our bodies used to not inhaling sugar and additives constantly. We have since that time migrated over to a more whole foods, clean eating approach, and this cookbook has been instrumental in that process.

Why do I love it so much? Because it is REALISTIC. Michelle wrote this book with families just like mine in mind. We want to serve wholesome, delicious food. We also have a million things on our “to do” lists such that cooking complicated dishes from scratch constantly isn’t feasible. And we have real budgets, meaning that we can’t spend hundreds of dollars every week at places like Whole Foods. Michelle’s recipe ideas are the perfect balance between price, time and health consciousness!

Michelle even includes weekly grocery list ideas and practical tips to help encourage healthy eating habits in your home. And most of the recipes are ready in 30 minutes or less! Heck yes!!! Michelle is an outstanding resource for finding practical ways to clean up the food in your house. I actually had the chance to be part of a conference call with her a while back and I learned some fantastic tips for encouraging healthy habits for kids. Definitely give that a read if you haven’t yet!

Ok, so about that recipe I found for a make-ahead (and totally freezable) breakfast idea. Check it out!

Are you shocked to see a breakfast recipe with the term “cookies” in it? Especially in a “clean eating” cookbook? I think this gives you an idea about just how practical Michelle’s approach really is! Her recipes are delicious AND appealing to the entire family, including kids. When I told Darah were were having “breakfast cookies” she almost couldn’t contain her excitement. She inhaled these (and to be honest, so did Tim and I!). I am actually going to make another batch today to tuck away in the freezer for the weeks ahead. They come together fast, and they go so well with a cup of coffee! 🙂

I bought the America’s Test Kitchen Healthy Cookbook hoping that it would have a lot of nice, simple recipes I could prepare quickly and easily, but no such luck…There are a few things in there, but most of them require a lot of preparation I don’t really feel like doing! A cookbook where most recipes are under 30 minutes is just what I need!

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Grab your beverage of choice (mine is iced coffee) and let's hang out for a spell! I'm Tiffany, and I've rambunctious little girls and a fierce desire to share any tip and trick I can find to make lives with little ones a bit less hectic and a lot more fun. [Read more...]